Communication method, in-vehicle communication device, computer-readable medium, and in-vehicle communication system

Abstract

There is provided a communication method in which an in-vehicle communication device transmits data to a server. The communication method includes: transmitting the data from the in-vehicle communication device to the server when a first communication link between the in-vehicle communication device and the server is established; transmitting the data from the in-vehicle communication device to a relay device different from the server when the first communication link is not established; temporarily storing the data received from the in-vehicle communication device in the relay device when a third communication link between the relay device and the server is not established; and transmitting the temporarily stored data from the relay device to the server through the third communication link when the third communication link is established and the temporarily stored data is present in the relay device.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A communication method in which an in-vehicle communication device transmits data to a server, the communication method comprising:
 transmitting the data from the in-vehicle communication device to the server through a first communication link when the first communication link between the in-vehicle communication device and the server is established; 
 transmitting the data from the in-vehicle communication device to a relay device different from the server through a second communication link different from the first communication link when the first communication link is not established; 
 notifying the relay device through the second communication link that the first communication link is lost when the first communication link is not established; 
 temporarily storing the data received from the in-vehicle communication device in the relay device when a third communication link between the relay device and the server is not established; and 
 transmitting the temporarily stored data from the relay device to the server through the third communication link when the third communication link is established and the temporarily stored data is present in the relay device. 
 
     
     
       2. The communication method according to  claim 1 , wherein the relay device is a mobile communication terminal that performs mobile communication with the server. 
     
     
       3. The communication method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining whether the data received by the server from the in-vehicle communication device includes data that has not been received by the relay device from the in-vehicle communication device; and 
 transmitting the data that has not been received by the relay device, from the server to the relay device when the data that has not been received by the relay device is present and the third communication link is established. 
 
     
     
       4. An in-vehicle communication device that transmits data to a server, the in-vehicle communication device comprising a transmission unit configured to
 transmit the data to the server through a first communication link when the first communication link between the in-vehicle communication device and the server is established, 
 transmit the data to a relay device different from the server through a second communication link different from the first communication link when the first communication link is not established, and 
 notify the relay device through the second communication link that the first communication link is lost when the first communication link is not established; 
 wherein the relay device is configured to
 temporarily store the data received from the in-vehicle communication device when a third communication link between the relay device and the server is not established, and 
 transmit the temporarily stored data to the server through the third communication link when the third communication link is established and the temporarily stored data is present in the relay device. 
 
 
     
     
       5. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process, the process comprising:
 transmitting data from an in-vehicle communication device to a server through a first communication link when the first communication link between the in-vehicle communication device and the server is established; 
 transmitting the data from the in-vehicle communication device to a relay device different from the server through a second communication link different from the first communication link when the first communication link is not established; 
 notifying the relay device through the second communication link that the first communication link is lost when the first communication link is not established; 
 temporarily storing, by the relay device, the data received from the in-vehicle communication device when a third communication link between the relay device and the server is not established; and 
 transmitting, by the relay device, the temporarily stored data to the server through the third communication link when the third communication link is established and the temporarily stored data is present in the relay device. 
 
     
     
       6. An in-vehicle communication system comprising:
 an in-vehicle communication device; 
 a server configured to communicate with the in-vehicle communication device; and 
 a relay device configured to communicate with the in-vehicle communication device and the server, wherein: 
 the in-vehicle communication device is configured to
 transmit data to the server through a first communication link when the first communication link between the in-vehicle communication device and the server is established, 
 transmit the data to the relay device different from the server through a second communication link different from the first communication link when the first communication link is not established; and 
 notify the relay device through the second communication link that the first communication link is lost when the first communication link is not established; and 
 
 the relay device is configured to
 temporarily store the data received from the in-vehicle communication device when a third communication link between the relay device and the server is not established, and 
 transmit the temporarily stored data to the server through the third communication link when the third communication link is established and the temporarily stored data is present in the relay device.